Most states calculate unemployment benefits based on your earnings or actual hours worked, so even a nominally part-time job can give you what you need to qualify.

If you lose your part-time job, or move from a full-time job to part-time work, you may be eligible for unemployment benefits. Most state unemployment departments will consider part-time employment in your work history when figuring your benefits. Your state’s rules and the amount of money you earn help determine whether or not you can receive an unemployment check.

How States Figure Benefits

To determine the amount of unemployment benefits you’re eligible to receive, your state’s unemployment office looks at your work history. Most states go back 15 months from the day you file an unemployment claim and consider the wages you earned in the two three-month periods (called quarters) when you earned the most. As long as the amount you earned meets the state’s minimum requirements for earnings, you’re eligible for unemployment benefits. In New York state, you must have earned at least $2,200 in one of the quarters in order to collect unemployment. Some states also have minimum hours requirements. For example, in Washington state, you must have worked at least 680 hours in your base year before you can collect unemployment.

Laid Off From Part-Time Work

If you’re laid off from a part-time job, you still may be eligible for benefits, as long as you worked enough hours or made enough money during the time your state uses to compute your benefit. If you worked a low-paying job, or one with very few hours each week, you may not meet the standards to collect unemployment benefits. If you worked more than one part-time job and still retain one of the jobs, you might be eligible for unemployment, as long as your remaining job doesn’t pay more than the minimum amount your state pays for a weekly benefit. For example, in Washington state at the time of publication, the minimum benefit was $169 a week. Other states, such as New York, reduce your benefit for each day of part-time work, regardless of how much you earn. New York state reduces your benefit by one quarter for each day you work; if you work four days a week, you receive no unemployment benefit.

Working Part-Time

If you previously held a full-time job and you accept part-time work while you’re receiving unemployment benefits, of if the hours at your full-time job have been reduced to part-time, the amount you earn will reduce your benefit, but may not eliminate it altogether. Some states subtract money you earn from your benefit dollar for dollar, while other states allow you to earn up to 25 percent more than your benefit before they cancel your unemployment checks. If your job is temporary, you may not receive an unemployment check while you’re working, but once the work ends you may resume collecting benefits.

Other Considerations

If you previously worked only at a part-time job, the unemployment office may require you to only look for new part-time jobs, and to accept any part-time work that is comparable to your former job. Though every state offers unemployment benefits to workers who qualify, each state sets its own rules regarding who may collect benefits and how much the benefit will be. Contact your state’s unemployment office to find out if you are eligible for unemployment if you have been laid off from a part-time job, or if you previously worked full-time and your hours have been reduced to part-time.

About the Author

Cynthia Myers is the author of numerous novels and her nonfiction work has appeared in publications ranging from "Historic Traveler" to "Texas Highways" to "Medical Practice Management." She has a degree in economics from Sam Houston State University.